Basic Etiquette for New Email Marketers
How Not To Be A Jerk
We originally published this in 2001, and updated it in January 2007
 You can pretty much classify email marketers into 3 groups. In one group, you've got the spammers. They're evil. These are the scumbags that send bazillions of pieces of junk mail everyday about v1agra, you-know-what enlargement pills, and great rates on mortgages. Way over on the other side, you've got good, responsible marketers. These people understand that the foundation of successful email marketing is permission. They only send email to people who have requested it from them (opt-ins). And they only send when they've got something valuable to say. Then there are those poor, confused people wandering around somewhere in between---the "clueless marketers." These people have good intentions, but they have absolutely no clue what kind of mess they're making. We wrote this article to help all the "clueless" email marketers out there.
Don't be a Clueless Email Marketer
In order to become a "smart marketer" you need to understand some basic, fundamental principles of email marketing...
1. Email is not free. Repeat that 10 times.
Unlike other forms of advertising, where the marketer pays the cost of everything, email marketing forces the recipient to bear a little of the cost. I know it seems miniscule, but it adds up---we all pay for every minute we're online. We pay for bandwidth. ISPs spend countless hours dealing with spammers and the billions of email messages they send. And we pay for those hours. Does your company run its own email server? Swing by and have a little chit-chat with your IT guy (he could use a little human interaction). Ask him if "spam" is costing your company anything, or if it takes up any of his valuable time. Ask him how much your company spends on bandwidth, and how much of that bandwidth is wasted on processing spam. Good, responsible marketers understand that email is not free---and your recipients pay part of the price for your marketing, too.
2. If they didn't explicitly request the email from you, don't send it!
Don't send email newsletters to a list of "prospects" whose emails you "aggregated" from various websites. Don't buy a 3rd party email list that claims to be "100% opt-in." Don't take a list from an organization that you're a member of. You know these people don't want to hear from you (just like you didn't want to hear from the people that sent you that Rolex and Viagra spam this morning). If they didn't submit their email to a form on your website, requesting to receive emails specifically from you, then trust us: they don't want to hear from you. If you want to market to another group's or partner's list, ask that group to send an email on your behalf, inviting its members to join your list. Don't take their list and use it as if it's yours (even if they give it to you free). You're just going to annoy lots of people, and they'll report your for spamming. If you don't understand why getting reported is a problem, swing by and ask your IT guy what it means when you "get the company's email server blacklisted by major ISPs." Or, you can swing by your legal department, and ask how bad it is to violate the Federal CAN-SPAM Act of 2003.
3. Always provide an unsubscribe link in your emails.
Not providing an unsubscribe link is the most common "rookie mistake" we see. Smart marketers know it sucks to lose a subscriber, but it's better than losing a paying customer. So don't be a jerk---give people the opportunity to get off your list. Besides, it's illegal not to.
4. Don't go nuts with HTML email!
Don't send HTML email "just because you can." HTML email is great, but it can get bulky and slow for recipients, if you don't know what you're doing. If you're sending simple "news alert" style information on a very frequent basis, consider sending it in good old-fashioned plain-text format. Some people prefer plain-text (especially the more "technical" users out there). Reserve the fancy HTML email for your monthly or quarterly newsletters. Anything you can do to cut down on the bulk, and make life easier for your recipients will pay off in the long run.
5. Don't send too often
Generally, don't send emails more than once a month, unless your recipients requested it, or it's expected of you (for instance, if you're sending daily news headlines, stock quotes, weekly sales, etc). Sending self-gratuitous marketing fluff is okay (as long as they requested said fluff), but don't do it too often---you'll wear down your customers.
6. Don't ever, ever rent or buy a list of emails. Ever. That's just stupid.
The reason for this is simple. Don't deny it. You know it. These people didn't request your email. Even if they did "Opt-in to receive emails from 3rd party vendors," and you technically are allowed to send emails to them, why bother? Your response rates will be dismal. You'll get all kinds of complaints from people who don't remember asking for your emails (because they didn't). It's best to just collect your emails yourself, on your own site. Sure it might take longer, but at least you'll know that these people actually want to hear from you, and you're almost guaranteed to be listened to.
But if you insist on using a rented or purchased email list, you should follow this very important guideline:
- Don't use MailChimp. No hard feelings.
7. Collect emails responsibly
Only use Opt-in, not Opt-out! Better yet, use double opt-in. Here's how double opt-in works: after people subscribe to your list, you send a confirmation email---one that requires that the recipient click on a link before you actually put them into your database. Don't send them a "confirmation email" that tells them "You're on the list, so click here if you change your mind." Why? Because people sometimes enter an incorrect email address, either erroneously, or maliciously. And you don't want to be sending emails to a bad address. Here's a well-known case of this happening, and going very, very wrong.
8. Don't get over ambitious with your HTML Email
Basically, there are a ton of email applications out there. And until Microsoft (God forbid) takes over all of these companies, we have to deal with the fact that we can't know how our emails will look in every application. So keep your designs simple. Generally, these technologies don't work well in email: Flash, DHTML, Videos, Music, or anything that requires Active-X or Javascript.
Stick to the basics: Simple HTML (Tables and embedded CSS is about as fancy as you can get), and Plain-text. Download our free Email Design Guide if you'd like some HTML Email coding tips.
9. Use a straightforward, honest subject line
Put away your "Copywriting That Sells!!!" book, and use a straightforward, honest subject line, like: "ACME Inc. June Newsletter." Stuff like, "FREE OFFER INSIDE" is going to get your email sent straight to the junk folder. Your subject line should help people instantly recognize who you are, and therefore trust that your email is not spam.
Email marketing is an extremely powerful tool, but with great power comes great responsibility. Smart email marketers understand the responsibility that permission marketing requires, and then they use that responsibility to their advantage.
Other Useful Resources:
- Free Email Marketing Guide
- Inbox Inspector: Generate screenshots of your email designs in all the major email programs, test all the major spam filters and email firewalls, and scan for spammy keywords in one click.
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